


The Angel's Darkside

by LadyIDK



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Slash, Supernatural Elements, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 01:54:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIDK/pseuds/LadyIDK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In small little village Lovino and Feliciano lived safely. Their Grandfather guarded it from the beasts and demonic beings that plagued the wilderness around it. When their grandfather dies and Lovino is the only one willing to take up the responsibility, but with the demons and his own village against him how long will that last?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ch.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Important A/N**  
> Hello everyone, I know this is a little later than expected and I do apologize. As you'll find as you read though it wasn't as easy as i thought to just rewrite the story. I mentioned in an author's note before that my original intention was to leave the first five chapters the same. As I was rewriting this story and editing them though I realized I didn't want to leave them the exact same. While they will lead to the same place, for the most part, as the previous one's did the way these chapters are structured, and the way they introduce characters are different.
> 
> I am posting two chapters today, to restart this story. I do have a schedule that I 100%, unless something major life wise comes up, should be able to keep up with. I want to thank everyone for their patience and support with this story and even bigger thanks to Masterliful, who has been helping me flesh out the plot points and characters for this story. She helped me fix sooo many mistakes with this story, both plot hole wise and grammatically. 
> 
> To those who want to know the update schedule check the bottom A/N at the end of this chapter, and don't forget there's a chapter after this as well.

“The fuck, this piece of shit should’ve lasted longer than two days,” Lovino Vargas muttered as he leaned down and picked up a stone lodged in the ground. He rolled it over in his hands noting the small fractures and cracks in the sides starting to lead up into a carved design. He sighed and dropped it into a pouch before reaching into another pouch and pulling out a new stone and placing it in the old one’s spot. It shimmered for a moment before settling back into a dull, gray color. 

“Last one at least,” Lovino spoke to himself as he stretched his arms up, popping his back in few places. He started walking off directly away from the stone he’d placed. While the stones he’d had to replace broke down sooner, much like the last one he’d come across, than they should have, most were actually still intact. He made a mental note to just place more in that area to keep that part of the barrier from having a weak spot. 

The walk back used to be exhausting for him when he first started replacing the barrier stones daily. Now, it was still exhausting, he was just able to walk the barrier faster now that he had been doing it for almost six months. At the end though his feet still hurt enough that he believed they would fall of one day. He was also getting used to the sting of the semi-permanent sunburn on his arms, shoulder, and face. No salve had proved useful in completely preventing the sun damage.

It was sunset by the time Lovino managed to trudge through the break in the trees to see a cabin. It was a small cabin that had a fairly quaint and kind of homey feel to it. Back when it was first built at least. It hadn’t been very well maintained, having only patches of new wood and nails in the worst of spots that couldn’t be ignored. Despite that the inside was still decent if a bit worn, and the structure as a whole was still sturdy. It had taken a horrifically bad thunderstorm to prove that to Lovino though.

Now the little building made Lovino’s entire body relax at the sight of it, knowing that now that it had made it back to the cabin it could rest. As he neared the door to his cabin he saw a large cloth sack was sitting just outside the door. He scooped the bag up without inspecting it before walking into the cabin and carelessly dropping it on the table right beside the door. He promptly walked the small distance from the door to a small cot on the other side of the cabin and collapsed on top. He let every throbbing ache in his muscles, back, and feet have their moment to cry out in relief. He laid there for a few moments, eventually he had to get back up though.

“Uhg, this a bad idea. I really don’t want to get back up,” he borderline whined. With a sigh though he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. He then began to unlace his boots and take off his thin jacket. After that was done he stood back up and grabbed the bag off the table and sat it on the floor as he sat on the table’s sole chair. 

Once a month, someone made the trek from the main village out to the sentry’s cabin and leaves whatever supplies or food they asked for while picking up a list written out for what would be needed the next month. Vash Zwingli was the man who made the trek out for Lovino, no one else in the village wanted to. In the bag there was usually also some sort of gift from a friend or family. Or even just from a few random villagers as a thanks. Lovino usually didn’t get any of that shit though. He knew the only sentry to really get gifts like that was the one before him, his grandfather. However, whether he wanted it or not, he always got at least one gift each and every time from one person. 

His younger brother, Feliciano, had sent just a few dozen letters this time that Lovino put on the table to glance over before he went to bed. There was also a gray tin, with a sickeningly sweet smiley face scratched into the top that Lovino sneered at, even as a blush colored his cheeks. Opening the tin he was greeted with the sweet aroma of tomato soup that had Lovino’s mouth watering immediately. He decided to send an actual reply to his brother’s annoying letters this time, as a thank you. The rest of the bag was nothing but some salted meat and semi-fresh vegetables, there was less than last time. Lovino felt a little annoyed at the obvious passive aggressive message. Part of him said he should complain to Vash about the grocer skimping on what he was supposed to send. Lovino reasoned in the end doing that probably wouldn’t change anything. Best to just let it go. 

Lovino sighed tiredly. He set the soup canister on his table and the meat in the cabin’s ice box tucked away in a corner of the cabin. The pitiful fruits and vegetables left in the bag could be gone through more thoroughly in a little while, for now he decided to set to work making enough replacement barrier stones for tomorrow. Twenty-two stones would need to be replaced tomorrow, but Lovino decided making thirty would be better in case more were in worse shape tomorrow.

He set to work opening a drawer filled with different yet similar stones. They varied in color but retained the same round flat shape. In the drawer was a small engraving knife. He pulled out a handful of stones and the knife and set them on the table as he reached above him to a shelf holding a decent number of books. He pulled out one and opened it to a page marked by a bent corner. On the page was a barrier insignia, detailed but not as much as other more advanced ones in the book. 

Lovino wasn’t good enough to properly make this simpler barrier insignia, he wasn’t going to waste his time fucking up on something out of his league. He didn’t start immediately, in the little dying light of the sun coming through his window he found his oil lamp and lit it as well as the small brick fireplace. He poured the canister of tomato soup into his cooking pot to warm up. As it warmed it filled the whole cabin with it’s sweet aroma. 

After having everything else for his night set up, Lovino went back to his desk and picked up his engraving knife. He set to work, picking up one stone and slowly and carefully scratching the design from the book onto the stone.

Hours passed like that, only being broken up by Lovino pouring a bowl of soup to fill his growling stomach. It was already far into the night when he heard the rumbling. He jumped in surprise as he heard the first cracklings. Lovino looked out his window and saw the outer barrier very slightly shift color in the sky, going from the black night sky to a slightly illuminated deep purple. It was in the same spots he’d found the worst of the broken stones. 

Demon’s trying to force their way through the barrier was a common occurrence and the sound was no worse than the sound of thunderstorm miles and miles away. Still each light crackling and echoing boom had Lovino tensing by the seconds. He tried to force himself to work on the stones, it never really worked. Soon enough Lovino was letting out a stream of curses as his hands began twitching slightly, ruining an almost finished line of the insignia he was drawing. Lovino quickly dropped the stone and knife in frustration and reached for a dark blue jar on the far corner of his table. He opened it and cussed again at seeing the contents empty. He’d been doing so well on the stones, but he knew that when he had an episode he was doing nothing but wasting his time. The ones already finished would have to do he lamented as he leaned back in his chair looking at the night sky. The best thing could do now would be to head to bed and try and get some sleep.

Or as well as one could with the sound of their enemies coming to kill them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried many times to make a schedule for updating but this is the first one that I believe will actually work. I will be updating the first and third monday of each month. On months where there is a fifth monday I haven't figured out what I will do yet. When a fifth Monday gets closer I will put an A/N about it in the first chapter of that month to let you all know what I will be doing. That's for later though, for now I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the next chapter even more! Thank you for reading. Chapter 3 will be posted on June 20th, look forward to it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N**  
> There's a chapter before this with important author's notes at the beginning and end!

Thud! Thud! 

Lovino groaned, burying his face deeper into his blankets, away from the progressively worsening chill in the air of his cabin and the offending sound that had woken him.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Fucking hell,” Lovino hissed. He groggily rolled out of bed and dressed himself. He slipped his shoes on and walked to his door, slamming it open and roaring, “What the fuck do you want you flowery bastard!”

The impatient guest paused where he stood several yards away from the cabin, rock in hand ready to chunk at the wall or door of the cabin. “Ah, you’re up beauté de sommeil. I was almost worried you weren’t home.” The man was tall and blonde with dark blue eyes and a bit of facial scruff dusting a sharp chin.

Lovino was unmoved by the charming grin the other shot in his direction. “Francis. You’re early,” Lovino grumbled unhappily and walked toward the other until there was only a yard of space between them.

The blonde man waved off the statement. “Apologies, it seems I've misscheduled a few business dealings today. I assumed you’d still be home around this time, so I was hoping to get our little arrangement out of the way for the day. It would make my day much more convenient.”

Lovino sneered. “Do you really think I give a fuck about what's more convenient for you when I’m supposed to be sleeping right now? Don’t come whining to me and fucking my morning up because you can’t keep your shit together.”

“Oh my! Such mean words so early in the morning!” The blonde tsked. Lovino shrugged.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

The blonde chuckled. “Yes, yes.” The blonde reached into a bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out a dark blue jar, exactly like the one on Lovino’s table in the cabin. “Hm, let’s see. What do I want my price to be this time?” Francis hummed as he shifted the jar from hand to hand thoughtfully. 

“Just hurry up and ask a damn question,” Lovino rushed.

“Impatient chéri,” the blonde all but cooed. Lovino sneered in disgust at the man and backed away, putting more distance between the two. “Fine, I’ll simply ask something that I’ve been personally curious about. When are you planning on heading back to that little village of yours?”

Lovino’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not answering that question, you fairy bastard.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you even want to know?”

A smirk curled the blonde’s lips. “Well I would love to know when your adorable face is planning on leaving, so I can prepare myself for the heartbreak.” Lovino stared at him, with a frown firmly set in place and eyes clearly stating for him that he wasn’t buying it. “Still a no then? Well give me a moment to think of something else.”

The man leaned his head back with a slightly pinched face, making a show of having to ‘think hard’ for a new question. “Ah, I’ve got one. Who makes the little barrier stones? The ones that have managed to keep out that group of persistent demons.”

Lovino frowned, pausing before shrugging and admitting, “I do.”

Francis seemed to be surprised by that information as his eyes widened and he stopped playing with the jar. “Really?”

“Who the fuck else would?”

“I simply assumed someone in the village made them and they were simply sent to you along with your other supplies.”

“They would probably last longer if someone else made them,” Lovino sighed. “But there, you have your information, now hand it over,” Lovino demanded, hand out motioning for the jar.

“Now, now, not so fast mon chéri. I have a few more questions.”

“I’ve already answered your questions,” Lovino spat.

“Ah, ah. You know the rules,” the blonde male tsked.

Lovino grumbled something about the fairy’s rules being stupid and waved for the blonde to continue his questioning. The fairy smirked and hummed to himself. He didn’t know which question to ask first. He could ask another to draw out the questioning and just try to read into Lovino’s reactions, but the shorter male had been doing very good recently at hiding his reactions when answering and rejecting Francis’s questions. 

“You know,” Francis mused, “I think I’ll ask a question I personally want an answer to.”

“Then just fucking ask it,” Lovino sighed, quickly growing exasperated. 

“Have you really missed that village? Do you really have anything to look so forward to going back too? From my years of living near and what I’ve asked you about it, it doesn’t sound like a place I would be willing to go back to. Then again I wouldn't have volunteered to protect it either,” Francis rambled while staring at Lovino, watching for any telling twitch on his face or body. Unfortunately, he didn’t see any.

Lovino’s face went neutrally blank, with the exception of narrowed eyes, most probably from technically being asked more than just one more question. In the end, while he wasn’t happy to answer a personal question like that, it couldn’t really hurt anything. It may also get the annoying fairy out of Lovino’s hair for awhile. “Yes,” Lovino finally answered evenly. He smirked as he saw Francis’s face twitch down into a frown.

“Yes? To which one?” the blonde inquired.

“Both, technically at least. I am looking forward to going back, and I do have something to go back to.”

“Is that so?” the fairy hummed curiously. He wanted more details, but could tell by Lovino’s smirk that no more information would come now that he’d answered the questions. “Ah well then, here,” the fairy sighed and tossed the blue jar to Lovino. The air shuddered between them and the jar in the air hesitated, a second longer than a jar in the air ever should, before it came to softly land in Lovino’s hands. “I’ll be sure to come up with more interesting questions next time.”

“Fucking fantastic, now get lost, asshole.”

“Now, now, mon cheri,” the blonde tsked again, but he did start heading into the woods where had arrived from. “I’ve told you before you should say someone’s name when you’re seeing them off.”

“Then get fucking lost, Francis.” The blonde fairy smirked and winked at Lovino one last time before disappearing into the woods and out of Lovino’s sight. Lovino sighed, he relaxed his shoulders a bit as he walked back into his cabin quietly and set the jar next to the empty one that looked just like it. Then, Lovino looked out into the rest of the cabin that looked much more sparse than it had already been a few weeks ago. Little knick-knack items he’d collected or he had sent to him by his brother didn’t lie around anymore and he kept most of his books, save for a few that he used to make the barrier stones, in a large bag ready to go. If he wanted, he could leave at any moment. He’d been planning on finishing his packing at the end of the week, but Francis’s first question had spooked him.

Truthfully he was probably just over eager to leave the cabin and the demons. He thought the weather might have been cold enough that the demons would be moving away from the village for winter by now, but if Francis was asking when he was leaving it was for a reason. He knew the fairy wasn’t above trading info from Lovino to the demons to get something, it was why he had been skeptical from the start when Francis first approached him. The demons must be pressuring the fairy trader to give them an estimate of who would go first because the side that backed down would be the loser. Lovino’s grandfather came home around this time of year, but his barriers were better and could last longer. 

Lovino’s barriers were weak though. The demons would only need a day or two, three at the most, to break through. Lovino could only leave if the demons were already gone, but the cabin was already getting almost too cold to sleep in. Eventually, he’d have no choice but to leave, but he was willing to bet that the demons would leave first. He could at least last that long, even if he hated to. 

For now though, none of that mattered. He had to start his day and get things done. Being up earlier than usual was a pain but that meant that he would be done sooner and may have enough time to do something other than making replacement stones for the night. Lovino started gathering his gear and bags. He reached to grab a few handfuls of finished stones to put in a little pouch for easy access when he knocked a few down into the floor.

“Shit,” Lovino muttered, leaning down to grab some before they rolled under his bed or into the fireplace and became even more of a pain to retrieve. He was mostly successful, except for one stone that managed to avoid his hands and sneak into a hole in floorboard that Lovino had managed to ignore during his stay. “Just fucking great.”

Lovino reached onto his desk and grabbed a long knife. He gently slipped it into the separation between the floorboard the stone had slipped under and the one beside it. He wiggled the knife up and down to loosen it. Each crack and soft snap of the board made Lovino wince slightly. He’d have to ask Vash in his supplies list to help him fix the board on his next visit. Finally, with a loud pop and snap, the wooden board lifted up and Lovino was able to spot the stone easily. It was the other item in the floor that surprised him. Picking up the stone and pocketing it, he then reached for a small white bag that had yellowed from years of age and poor upkeep. 

It was tied with thick string and it took Lovino a minute to undo the knot. Once he’d finally loosened them though, he was able to open the pouch. Whatever was inside had been round and felt like metal. When he carefully upturned the pouch two silver bracelets fell out, both were intricately designed with curved, swirling markings broken up with straight lines carved deep into the metal. They were pretty and had to be expensive. Lovino frowned a moment. The thought that these two bracelets were a gift some poor love sick villager to his grandfather disgruntled him. It mostly made him feel bad for the person who put this much money into the gift.

His grandfather had been a charmer, to men and women alike. It had gained men’s trusts and women's hearts. The women often gave him items to ‘be remembered by’ before his grandfather went off to the cabin to guard the village again once winter had ended. From what he knew, his grandfather never bothered to take any of the items with him. So seeing the pouch made him wonder if perhaps his grandfather had grown some affection for some woman before he’d passed. 

Before he could spend much more time wondering on that though Lovino realized there was something else in the pouch. Something large but thin. He reached into the pouch and pulled out a picture. It was drawing that showed a woman and man sitting together on some stones near a lake. The man was sitting up straight and smiling down at the woman, who looked to be asleep with her head leaned onto his shoulder. An infant wrapped in a blanket was in the man’s arms and as Lovino looked at the picture more, he noticed that the woman’s stomach was drawn to be on the round side. As if to show she was expecting another child, but Lovino couldn’t be sure since it was a drawing. She looked beautiful though, with dark hair and a round face. The man also had dark hair, but not shaded as darkly as the woman’s. Then Lovino noticed the woman and man wearing bracelets, it was hard to tell but they looked like the ones in the pouch he’d found.

Lovino blinked when he noticed his eyes stinging a bit. He blinked and a few tears slid down his face. He hurriedly scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. The sudden emotions he was feeling shocked him, however he couldn’t shake the melancholy feeling he had when looking at this picture. He had things to do though, so once he’d calmed he carefully slide the picture and bracelets back into the pouch before tucking it into a bag he had halfway packed near his bed and quickly left the cabin to start his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted on June 20th! For more information on the new update schedule read the A/N at the end of chapter 1. Thank you for readying!
> 
> Transaltions:
> 
> Beauté de sommeil-Sleeping beauty  
> Impatient chéri-Impatient darling


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Sorry for the technically late update! I didn't expect to have been getting home from work so late. Anyway I won't keep you from the chapter any longer, enjoy!

Lovino reached into the freezing water of the river-bed and plucked a handful of stones from the bottom. During the summer he had no problem pretty much jumping into the waters to find the right shape of stone he needed to carve barrier emblems, but when it was already this cold it was torturous. Like icy needles slicing through and past him as the water lightly but quickly flowed around his ankles.

 

“How the fuck can you stand that?” A gruff voice snapped. Lovino glanced up to see a blonde man for the second time this month. Lucky for him it was one he could at least stand. Vash Zwingli was standing a few yards away with two bags, one was a cloth bag that looked like most of the supply bags he usually got from Vash and the other was a tool bag that seemed to be just as filled.

 

“Morning,” Lovino greeted in a well mannered tone. “And I can’t, I have to get out every few minutes to keep from freezing my toes off. Makes this shit tedious as hell.”

 

“Why not get the ones at the edge,” Vash stated as he placed both bags on the ground and leaned against a nearby tree.

 

“I already picked all the good ones out months ago, the reas aren’t the right shape for engraving seals.”

 

“I thought you could engrave a seal on any stone, and that all that mattered was making sure you put enough magical energy into the stone as you carved the seal to power the spell.”

 

Lovino snorted. “Someone has been reading his sister’s books.” Lovino ignored the glare Vash sent his way while Lovino leaned back down to grab some more stones, dropping the ones he had deemed the right shape and size in a pouch tied to his hip. “Yes, technically shape shouldn’t matter, _if_ the person carving the seal can carve it. It’s actually quite a pain in the ass though. Flatter stones make it easier.”

 

“Ah,” Vash mumbled. “How many do you need?”

 

“Ideally? 300. I’m settling for 200 though, if I stay in this water any longer I may actually hurt myself with the way my feet keep going numb.”

 

“How long have you been out here,” Vash asked in shock.

 

“I got here a little after sunrise, so it’s only been a few hours. Walking this bitch of a river sucks though, I’ve managed to get 106 stones so far.”

 

“Why get so many?”

 

“Well, the more I fucking get now the longer I can go without coming back out here.”

 

“True,” Vash agreed. “But still, do you need that many? Even if you mess up you aren’t even planning on staying out here much longer right? The demons have always been gone by now in all of the previous seasons.”

 

Vash wasn’t wrong, Lovino mentally sighed. The demons attacks on the barrier tended to cease when the frost started settling in. It seemed this season was no different than the ones before it since the demons hadn’t attacked the barriers in two nights. It meant that almost none of the stones Lovino had set out needed to be replaced, except for a handful that had whittled away on their own due to a mistake in the carving of their seal.

 

“Better safe than sorry,” was all Lovino replied with. “Listen, you don’t have to stay out here, it’s fucking freezing, the door to the cabin is unlocked. You can go ahead inside and fix the floor, it’s at least a little bit warm still.” Lovino didn’t look up from the stones he was inspecting as he heard Vash move and start walking again. He did look up when he heard splashing steps. “What the hell are you doing?”

 

“You only need ninety more right? It’ll be quicker if we both do it and that means you’re less likely to catch something from being out here. Do you even know how much of a pain your brother would be if he found out you got sick, and that I didn’t stop you from doing the shit that made you sick? He’s already annoying enough following my sister around like a-”

 

“Aren’t they friends?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not weird for him to hang out around her, but seriously he doesn’t have to stand so close to her when they hang out.”

 

“You mean within a mile of her?” Lovino snickered. Vash sent him another dirty look but the blush that accompanied it didn’t make it very effective. “Your sister could kick my brother’s ass, out of all the people in the village he’s the least of your worries.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Vash muttered. The rest of the time they spent looking for stones was spent in relative silence, only speaking to each other a few more times when a topic or comment would cross either of their minds. It wasn’t until a few hours later when the both of them were heading back to Lovino’s cabin that Vash brought his brother up again.

 

“He really is worried,” Vash started.

 

“I know,” Lovino sighed, “but I can’t leave yet. The demons still try to break the barriers down every night and mine aren’t as strong as my grandfather's.”

 

“Yeah I know.” Vash went quiet again, but the silence felt a little more awkward this time. Lovino glanced at him and saw his blonde brows furrowed.

 

“What wrong?”

 

Vash didn’t speak for a moment. He eventually came to a stop just a few yards from the cabin. “The village has a request.”

 

“Request?” Lovino snorted, the villagers had never asked Lovino for or to do anything. They hadn’t even asked him to take over his grandfather’s job.

 

“They want you to take down the outer barrier.”

 

“...Do the dumbasses _want_ to die,” Lovino asked. The idea of removing the outer barrier was stupid, ridiculous, and a bad joke. Lovino would happily play it off as joke too, but Vash was serious.

 

“They want to leave, all of them. The outer barrier is the same kind as the one your grandfather had up right? It’s a complete seal, inside and out.”

 

“Sorta, yeah.”

 

“Sort of?”

 

“Well,” Lovino started, “there is this loophole from what I can tell that anyone of the same blood as the barrier’s creator can go through it easily. It’s how I managed to sneak into the woods as a kid.”

 

“So apart from you and your brother no one can get through, in or out.”

 

“Yeah, grandpa said it was the best way to keep the demons out. Which is why it’s stupid to take it down! Demons could send human slaves to find and get rid of the stones for the other two barriers.”

 

“And if it stays up no one in the village can leave,” Vash explained. “Everyone in the village has decided they want to leave. They believe the demons are already gone. Are they?” Vash asked.

 

Lovino hesitated before giving an honest answer. “I...don’t know for sure, but they haven’t attacked the outer barrier for the last two nights. That doesn’t mean they’re gone though.”

 

“I’d probably take it as a sign they’ll be gone soon though.”

 

“I’m not willing to bet my brother’s safety on that, and _you_ shouldn’t be betting on your sister’s like that,” Lovino accused.

 

“Lovino, you can’t keep this up. Your barriers don’t last long, and from what you’ve told me today they aren’t getting all that better. The demons will break through, I don’t know when but they will and then everyone in the village will just be there, like sitting ducks.” Vash’s statement made Lovino flinch, mostly cause the blonde was right. “Your grandfather modified the barrier before right? Long enough for that kid your brother used to play with to leave with his dad after the kid’s accident. Can’t you do that?”

 

“No,” Lovino sighed. “I don’t know how to do something like that, I barely know how to keep them up. The books grandpa left don’t mention anything about that. The only way the village can leave is for it to be taken down and that would only leave the inner barriers which, as I said, can be taken down in one fucking day. The inner two barriers only keep out demons, anyone else can be sent in.”

 

“So you’re refusing?”

 

Lovino opened his mouth then closed it. He looked down and glared at the ground under his feet. “Give me some time, to figure something out. I know...I know you aren’t wrong, neither is the village. This winter may be are only chance to get away from the demons without getting killed. I’m not confident though, in just having the two inner barriers.”

 

“Well, come to a decision, and then get your ass home so Feliciano doesn’t have a nervous breakdown.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Lovino muttered, then he snorted. “I guess there’s no real reason for you to fix the floor now if the cabin is just going to be abandoned after I leave.”

 

“True,” Vash chuckled. “You’re an idiot though if you think I’m not coming in to thaw out by your fireplace after freezing myself half to death over your fucking rocks.”

* * *

 

Later that night Lovino was sitting up in his bed sorting through books. The fire was still going and cast just enough light in the small cabin for him to read without having to light a lantern. Vash was asleep on the floor, a few feet away from the fire. It was too dark and too cold for him to try and go back to the village. He hadn’t fixed Lovino’s floor, he had agreed with Lovino it would be just a waste of materials. He had also said he wished he’d realized that sooner.

 

Lovino turned another page in the book he had open. He’d already gone through three, but none of them had anything useful. There were instructions for barriers or spells that could work for what the village wanted, but Lovino didn’t have the skill or power to actually pull any of them off.

 

He knew when Vash was talking earlier he was right. Everyone in the village needed to escape, and as soon as possible. Lovino didn’t like his options, well, option. Taking the barrier down completely really was his only one. It would be fairly obvious to the demons if they were still around though. Lovino could take the barrier down and at the same time set up a different one. One like the other two barriers that would block only demons. He would just have to hope that the demons were already gone, or getting ready to leave and just wouldn’t notice.

  
It was a shit idea and plan, but it was the only one he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Special thanks again to my wonderful Beta Masterliful! Poor thing was going through exams and still managed the time to help correct the mistakes in the chapter! You are a lifesaver! Anyway, apologies again for the technically late chapter.
> 
> Next update will be July 5th! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* So funny story, I actually looked at my calendar wrong and didn't realize until about two days ago that the July 5th was a Tuesday and not a Monday. Sooo...enjoy the early (sorta) chapter!

“Fuck, I really can’t believe I’m doing this,” Lovino muttered. He was sitting on the ground resting. It was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, only obstructed by a few clouds. Lovino was sitting on the ground against a tree taking a short break and turning a stone over in his hands.

Vash’s visit had been a few days ago, and the night he had stayed over Lovino had gotten no sleep. He’d struggled to come up with a solution, he’d gone through all the books he had trying to find some spell or barrier that he could do. He’d found very, very few that could have possibly worked but they were too advanced for Lovino to delude himself into believing he could pull them off.

Lovino explained to Vash the morning the blonde left what his plan was. He’d do what the villagers wanted, but they had to be ready to go. Lovino told Vash he hadn’t heard the demons trying to break through in the last few nights but he didn’t know if that meant they were gone, which meant that everyone needed to move quickly in case they were still around. He said he would spend a few more days making new stones and replacing the stones of the outer barrier with them. Then they would all need to act quickly.

_\--Flashback--_

_“I’ll tell them to pack what they can, and to only take what they need, but even then I think it will take at least a day to get the village ready to go. There are children and the elderly to consider.” Vash said._

_“The longer we take the higher the risk. I think we should go during the day,” Lovino said._

_“The morning after you get back then,” Vash concluded. “Once you make it into the village everyone can start getting their things and family loaded onto carts and wagons.”_

_“At daybreak the next morning everyone basically makes a run for it,” Lovino sighs. “It’s not a subtle way to go about it, and the possible noise of it could draw attention, but…”_

_“You can’t think of a better way to go about it.” Vash finished. Lovino snorted._

_“I can think of a hundred ways that are better, but none that we have enough time for or that I’m able to pull off.”_

_“ ‘Damned if we do, damned if we don’t’ kind of scenario.” Vash sighed, Lovino kept quiet._

_\--Flashback End--_

He sighed again and stood up. He was about a mile away from his cottage, it had taken a full day to make all the new stones, then another one to start changing them out. Today he planned to finish replacing them and then he would pack what he needed in the cabin and leave for the village. He estimated that if he traveled all through the night, even though it would be horribly freezing, he would make it into the village by the next day in the late morning or afternoon.

The barrier was already down. Once he’d taken about a third of the stones out and replaced them he could feel the barrier fall. It was hard to describe, it felt like a foreboding presence leaving or like a weight he hadn’t realized he was feeling being lifted. He was relieved there was no visible evidence of the moment the barrier fell, but feeling it fall made Lovino’s stomach twist with nerves.

Lovino continued replacing the stones for hours on end, it was already dark by the time he made it back to his cabin. He placed the last stone down on the ground and slipped the old one into his pocket. The emblem on the stone flashed briefly and the stone itself seemed to glitter. After another second though it simply looked like a normal stone again. Lovino released a low breath of relief. He frowned upon noticing the slight tremors in his hands progressively getting worse. He balled his hands up to try and steady them, and turned to his cabin so he could collect his things.

“Ah, perfect timing mon cher.”

Lovino jumped and, embarrassingly enough, squeaked in surprise at the sudden voice of the blonde fairy. He turned and Francis was standing just about a foot away from the barrier. Lovino’s blood went cold.

“What the fuck do you want?” Lovino snapped harshly, trying to mask the actual panic and paranoia he was suddenly feeling. He felt the quivering in his hands worsen and he could feel his arms twitch faintly. He paced up to Francis, standing a few feet away and crossing his arms to hide their involuntary movements.

“Dans une humeur de chien?” Francis raised a brow at Lovino. Lovino simply glared back. “One hell of one,” Francis muttered.

“What do you want,” Lovino repeated a bit more calmly. Francis eyed him curiously before a smirk slid across the blonde’s face.

“I came to say my farewells, mon cher. It’s getting a bit too chilly for me lately, I believe a change of warmer scenery is in order.”

“So you’re leaving? Good riddance.” Lovino snorted and smirked.

“Tsk, tsk, no need to put on a brave face my dear, I know you’ll miss me,” Francis chuckled. Lovino rolled his eyes. “As well as the little gifts I bring you,” Francis continued and pulled out a jar from a bag strapped to his back.

“Ah,” Lovino muttered. “Well, I guess you are a little right about that,” he conceded. “I’m guessing you want the usual?”

“Of course but let’s mix it up. To get this I’ll only ask you one question, whether you choose to answer it is up to you or not. However, this time for every time you answer one of my questions, I will answer one of yours. When you refuse to answer is when our little game ends?”

Lovino was surprised at this offer. He shouldn’t trust it and didn’t. For his own sanity though he wanted one question answered.

“Deal,” Lovino agreed.

“First, question, what’s her name?”

Lovino blinked blankly. “Pardon?”

“Her name? Oh, or is it he? Perhaps that grumpy faced blonde from the other day? He stayed the night at your cabin, correct? Must have been a nice night~”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lovino spat.

“You lover mon cher! I want to know the name of my rival,” Francis grinned.

Lovino’s face turned beet red in less than a second. “WHAT THE FUCK! Don’t go getting carried away in your own perverted fantasies you fucking fairy.” Lovino took a breath and tried to calm his temper, he knew Francis was just trying to rile him up so that he might make a mistake later. “He’s just a guy from the village who brings me food and other supplies.”

“Hm, my interpretation is more intriguing,” Francis smirked. Lovino would give anything to smack it off of the blonde’s face. “Well then if he isn’t then who is? You said last time you had a reason to care and return to your village, what is it? I’m assuming it’s a lover. Or is it something else?” The blonde probed.

“I don’t have a lover you nosey fuck. I have...someone I do have to look out for though,” Lovino conceded some information. He didn’t want to say it was his brother or even mention he had any family. He didn’t want to paint any kind of target on his brother. “Anyway, my turn. Are the demons gone?”

Francis chuckled. “Straight to the point!”

“Answer,” Lovino demanded.

Francis sighed and tired smile sat on his face. “Yes, yes. Gone with the warm summer. I have no business with them gone which is why I’m taking my leave as well. Shouldn’t you know this yourself? They’ve been gone and left your little barriers alone. No one around to attack them anymore.” Francis lifted a hand as if to tap the air, around where the barrier would be. Unlike before though, Francis’s hand would pass right through it.

“If that’s all you can give me the jar and leave,” Lovino snapped again a bit too loudly. Francis paused, taken by surprise at Lovino’s sudden mood swing. He lowered his hand.

“Now, now, mon cher, our game isn’t over. Let’s see my next question is-”

“Nope, I’m done. I just wanted to know that,” Lovino stopped Francis. The fairy frowned and narrowed his eyes.

“Fine,” he sighed, his playful mood fading with Lovino’s antsy behavior. It was unusual, and made the fairy curious, but he could tell if he tried to press the brunette on anything all he would get were snide remarks and a headache. “I recommend you go ahead and take a dose. You look like you need it right now.”

He tossed over the jar he’d promised Lovino and watched as Lovino caught it. Usually, once Lovino had the item in hand he would stalk off into his own cabin. This time though, Lovino stood still, waiting on something.

“Not running off to you little safe haven tonight? Are you perhaps hesitant? Will you actually be missing me, mon cher?” Francis teased.

“As if, fucker.” Lovino snapped and proceeded to stomp into his cabin, embarrassed and even more nervous at being called out for his odd behavior. “Get the fuck out of here and away from me.” Lovino slammed the door shut behind him. After he was behind closed doors he sighed and slumped against the door. His whole body was shaking and twitching.

He felt disgusted with himself. He had acted oddly even though he knew he should have acted normal but he wasn’t prepared for the blonde’s appearance. Lovino looked at the jar in his hands. He quickly uncapped the top and gulped down one sip. It took a few minutes but it eventually worked its magic and Lovino felt the twitching and tremors disappear. Lovino walked over to his already packed bags and tucked it inside. He’d been packed for the most part. When Vash had come over the only thing that had been unpacked were the books he used for the barrier stones. Now they were also packed and ready to go. Lovino peeked out his window. It was dark so he couldn’t confirm completely but it seemed Francis had disappeared like Lovino told him to.

Lovino relaxed even more after confirming the fairy had left. He would wait a couple of hours but he needed to leave soon if he was going to return to the village by tomorrow.

* * *

 

Francis stared at the cabin Lovino had escaped into. He no longer held a smile and his eyes no longer an amused glint. The brunette was acting odd and hiding something. With the brunette gone and not in the mood to continue their conversation Francis walked away.

“I knew I should have actually asked something important,” Francis sighed. He’d assumed that Lovino would take full advantage of the deal Francis presented and try and get everything he knew about the demons. He’d only been concerned with one thing though. Confirming they had left.

“He’s going to be leaving soon then,” the blonde mused. He was walking along the barrier line. He could see all the stones he’d seen Lovino placing throughout the day. It had been the most stones he’d ever seen the boy place in all his months of watching the Lovino. Obviously he was trying to make the barrier as long lasting as possible and making sure the stones were as ‘fresh’ as possible before he left.

“He will not be happy about this,” Francis continued to talk to himself. “Why couldn’t you have given me just a bit more, mon cher? Now I’ll be scolded.” Francis reached his hand up after coming to a stop and moved his hand to tap against the barrier. He expected it to repel him, just as harshly as it always had.

When it didn’t Francis stood still. He stared at his hand, before he looked down at the ground at the barrier stone he stood in front of. Francis brows furrowed, and his eyes widened. His hand fell back down to his side. He stood still for a moment, staring straight ahead at nothing...before taking a single step forward into woods he’d never ventured into before and smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Next update is July 18th!
> 
> Translation:  
> Dans une humeur de chien?-In a foul mood?  
> Mon cher-My dear


	5. Chapter 5

The night passed quickly and so did the early half of the morning during Lovino’s walk. The sun was shining brightly in the sky as he walked down the familiar path and into his village that was already buzzing with activity. When people noticed him though the casual movements of their daily work stopped. Some stared at him as he passed while others quickly went into their homes or stores. It didn’t take long for the ones staring to snap out of it and get to work themselves.

Lovino was glad to see that none of them were going to be wasting any of their limited time. Lovino wished his first stop could be his home but he figured he should let Vash know he was here so that Vash could make sure the rest of the village started getting ready to leave.

Their village wasn’t very large, but it gave him a cramped almost claustrophobic feeling. All the buildings were too close together for his liking, most of them were made of wood since that was their only real resource for making buildings and homes. He also had always felt that the buildings were bigger than what was necessary. They only made sense for the larger families but there weren't but three families with more than two kids.

Vash’s building was coming into a view when Lovino suddenly felt a hard force smack against the side of his head. “Son of a bitch,” Lovino spat. Hysterical laughter broke out on his right. There was a group of kids on his right that had rocks in their hands and were laughing. Lovino felt a small wet trickle down the side of his head. He glared at the kids but otherwise didn’t say anything, the brats were looking for a reaction so giving them none was the best option.

He started to walk forward again when another rock came flying past him. Luckily the kid that threw it had terrible aim and it missed him by a wide margin. Still, it made him flinch which made another chorus of giggles and laughter erupt from the kids. “Dang! I missed!” One of them whined.

“Knock it off!” A loud voice boomed. Lovino glanced up to see Vash hurriedly coming toward them while glaring daggers at the group of kids. A few shrieked and ran off but three stayed behind.

“Why should we?” A boy slightly taller than the other two demanded. Lovino guessed he was ‘boss’ of the rest. In fact, looking at him Lovino recognized him as the local metal smith’s boy.

“Get lost now and I’ll pretend this never happened. Throw another rock and I’ll tell your parent you’re acting like a heathen.” Lovino heard a murmuring of voice and the sounds of doors opening. This part of the village was residential so it still wasn’t busy this early, but people were awake. Lovino guessed they were curious about the yelling and seeing what all the fuss was about, probably even trying to make sure it wasn’t any of their kids causing it.

“My dad says he deserves it though!” The boy shouted back undeterred by Vash’s threat, though he did back away a bit. The boy’s behind them were looking at Vash slightly scared, most people knew better than to piss him off after all. Adult or child, most everyone knew Vash was not someone to be messed with.

Usually at least.

“Well, your dad is a drunkard who’s had too many head injuries for opening his mouth and spouting stupid shit. Now go home, unless you want everyone in the village to leave your slow asses behind to get eaten by demons.” That managed to make the loud boy pale. He and his friends dropped the rocks they had in their hands and took off running for home. Lovino looked around at the crowd they had gathered.

Some women had grouped together and were whispering while sending glances his way, it was incredibly annoying. “The shows fucking over,” Lovino snapped. “Go find some other injured person to criticize!” He didn’t get any responses past offended glares.

Vash put a hand on his shoulder and pushed Lovino aside a bit so he was mostly blocked by the taller blonde. “Go inside and get your family's ready! Like I told those kids, anyone not ready to leave by tomorrow morning get’s left behind for the demons to find.” Finally, with that order the people who had gathered dispersed to return to their homes or go find their friends and other members of their families.

“What a warm welcome,” Lovino deadpanned. Vash didn’t respond to the joke, the blonde’s face was still pinched with anger.

“They’re ungrateful assholes who have shitty parenting skills,” Vash seethed before turning to face Lovino. “Why didn’t you tell them off?”

“What would have it gotten me? More rocks to the face, and their parents getting pissed at me and an overall headache. I fucking hate kids,” Lovino sighed.

Vash frowned but didn’t comment. “Guess you are kind of right,” he sighed scratching the back of his head. He then looked at Lovino with a serious expression. “Everything is set?”

“Yeah, I left as soon as I finished setting up the new barrier. Actually, it’s the best one I’ve made so far,” Lovino informed feeling just a little bit of pride in it. “I think it could take the demons a week to break it actually.”

“Good,” Vash nodded. “I assume you were just coming to let me know you were back?” When Lovino nodded he smirked. “Thanks, I’ll make sure word gets to everyone. We’ll be leaving in the early morning so you best go home and get ready yourself. If you’re quick you may even be able to get some sleep.”

“I doubt it,” Lovino sighed, but there was a soft smirk on his lips. “My idiot brother will probably be sobbing and whining nonstop when I get home. There’s no way I can sleep through that racket.”

Vash laughed. “Well try, I’ll stop by later to let you know how things are going.” With a wave goodbye, Vash ran off to get things started. Lovino waved back for a moment before turning around and heading home.

* * *

Lovino’s walk actually took a minute. His house, while still in the village and technically not far from where Vash lived was still a good distance and the parts of the village that had seen he was back were chaotic. People were running around like crazy loading up their carts and packing whatever they thought they would need. Lovino had to avoid being trampled several times by people who weren’t paying attention.

Eventually he finally made it.

His house was different than the rest of village. While most of the homes were overly spacious theirs was small. His grandfather had made it, or so his grandfather had told him and his brother, in the summer when they had first gotten to the village. It had apparently been the last peaceful summer that the village had before the demons came. During that time his grandfather didn’t have much money or belongings. He used what little money he had on the tools he needed and then used the wood from trees that had been in the area. The house was small just two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen with a small dining room.

Originally, his grandfather had planned on expanding at a later time so that when Lovino and his brother got older they could have their own room. However, since the demons started attacking the village his grandfather would leave for most of the year. That left Lovino and Feliciano their own rooms. When their grandfather would return Feliciano would return to Lovino’s room. Honestly though, Feli had a bad habit of sneaking into Lovino’s bed year round. It was something the two grew accustomed to, although Lovino would be embarrassed beyond belief if anyone found out.

Actually, when their grandfather would return, Feli often slept in their grandfather's room. At least when their grandfather didn’t have any ‘friends’ staying the night. Those nights were the only time their grandfather told Feliciano no on anything.

With a wistful sigh Lovino focused back onto the door and walked in. Almost immediately he was hit with his favorite scent. Tomatoes. He followed the scent into the kitchen and looked into the pot sitting in the fireplace. The aroma was mouthwatering and it brought a smile to his face.

A smile that lasted for less than a second when the high pitched squeal of his brother pierced his eardrums. He felt thin arms snap around his torso as his brother smashed into him from behind. High pitched squeals and babbling were coming out of his brother’s mouth faster than Lovino could make it out.

“For fucks sake Feli!” Lovino roared as he pried his brother off of him and gave him a gentle shove. “Pay attention to what people are doing before you attack them like that! You nearly pushed me into the fire, and I can’t make out a single word you're saying when you talk like that. Take a damn breath!”

Once Lovino had stepped to the side away from the fire Feliciano immediately latched onto his brother again. He held on just as tightly as he had a second ago but at least this time it didn’t almost topple Lovino over.

“Fucking hell,” Lovino sighed as he patted his brothers quivering back. “Now what the fuck were you saying?”

Feliciano pulled back from his brother and looked up at him with an endlessly happy smile and sparkling, watery doe brown eyes. “Welcome home fratello!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say this time around~ Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Next update is August 1st!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Sorry for the lateness but next chapter will be on time!

“Fratello~ You really should be more careful,” Feliciano hummed as he continued to gently rub a piece of cloth to Lovino’s head. His and Feliciano’s greetings earlier were cut short once Feliciano had noticed dried blood in Lovino’s hair. Lovino had forgotten that those brats had drawn blood with their rocks earlier.

 Feliciano had started panicking and rushing around for first aid supplies. That was when Lovino noticed that the house seemed emptier; it looked like Feliciano had decided to start packing early. Once his little brother had dug out everything he needed he forced Lovino into a chair and be doted on.

 “How did you get hurt this time?” Feliciano pursed his lips in a pout.

 “I tripped,” Lovino lied. “I was tired from the walk back and just lost my footing.” Feliciano gave a concerned hum. He eventually put the now pink and red rag down before opening a small jar of salve and getting just a bit out to rub on the wound.

 “It’s not very deep at least,” Feliciano sighed. “I bet it hurts though. You probably have a headache, and if you’re so tired that you’re getting dizzy and falling then you should take a nap fratello! I went ahead and packed the sheets and most of the blankets but I can pull them back out and remake a bed so you can sleep.”

 “Feli,” Lovino snapped, but it didn’t have any bite to it. Feliciano quit his rambling immediately but pouted. “I’m fine,” Lovino said in a softer tone. He stood up and patted his little brother on the head. He could feel his face turning a bit red when Feliciano gave him a happy smile.

 “So, uh, I see you were cooking…” Lovino muttered, trying very obviously to shift Feliciano’s attention to something else.

 “Oh!” Feliciano exclaimed and swiftly turned around to check on his food. “It’s almost done actually! Did you want some fratello? I tried some new seasoning combinations I learned from Lili.”

 “I’m sure it’ll taste fantastic, like always,” Lovino muttered at his brother with a small smile. His brother was now fully focused on the pasta that had been cooking. “I’d love some by the way, I’m starving, but after we’re done eating we need to start packing.”

 “I know! I know!” Feliciano reached up into the cabinet above him for two bowls and began combining the noodles and sauce into two bowls. “I actually didn’t have much to do so when Mr. Zwingli told me that everyone was going to be moving once you got back I decided to get a head start! I thought you’d be happy not having to do so much because I guessed you’d be tired. Grandpa always complained about how uncomfortable the cabin was and how he never got any real rest till he was home with us! You really should take a nap-”

 “Feli,” Lovino cut off. “Let’s eat first, and finish packing after, _if_ we have time we can both take a nap,” Lovino offered. “Deal?”

 “Deal!” Feliciano agreed.

* * *

 

The day passed quickly after Lovino and Feliciano’s meal. Feliciano had actually made more progress than Lovino would have guessed. Only one bed was made, but with their most worn sheets, ones that they could, and would, leave rather than packing. Everything in their grandfather’s room was already packed and Lovino felt a pang of guilt for it.

 He assumed it was the first room Feliciano packed up, so there was probably no way Lovino would have made it in time to help. Lovino didn’t like the idea of his brother doing something that would have made him upset. Feliciano’s room and the remnants of Lovino’s old room were also packed and ready. Feliciano had really only left the kitchen alone.

 The weren’t taking any of the furniture in the house. The village had enough carts that every family could load a few chest onto it and get out but not enough to carry bulky furniture like bed frames or tables. With only the kitchen needing to be packed up they got it finished in a few hours. Tableware, utensils, cookware, and food that wouldn’t perish within the span of a week were all packed up neatly in sacks and the final portable chest they had.

 The sun hadn’t even gone down by the time they were done. Lovino and Feliciano ended up taking a nap after. Feliciano kept insisting Lovino needed rest, and Lovino wouldn’t say he was wrong, but Feliciano’s yawns were a clear indication that he wanted some rest too. They both curled up together, much to Lovino’s reluctance, on the one made bed left in the house.

 “I still can’t believe we’ll be leaving,” Feliciano hummed as he plopped down beside Lovino who’d already kicked off his boots and laid down. “I’m so sad to but at the same time excited,” he continued with a giggle.

 “Sad?” Lovino snorted out without thinking. He winced at the disapproving pout his brother gave him.

 “Of course!” Feliciano exclaimed. “We’re leaving our home! The place where we were raised by grandpa and made so many memories.” Feliciano sighed and rolled until he was lying flat on his back beside Lovino. His hands were folded comfortably on his stomach and he smiled wistfully at the ceiling.

 “This is the place where grandpa taught us to cook, and where we made friends.” Lovino stayed quiet though his brow twitched in slight annoyance. Lovino’s agitation wasn’t really his brother’s fault, after all most of those memories were good memories that should be treasured. For Feliciano at least. Lovino’s weren’t.

 He wasn’t fond of this town. As a child he detested being confined to it. It wasn’t as if he felt it was too small, he’d never seen another village to actually compare it. His grandfather was the one who called it small, more specifically a ‘charming little village’ and then told stories about the larger more interesting towns he’d been to. He only spoke about them when he was drunk though, so Lovino could never get a grasp on what was true and what was exaggerated.

 Either way he used it as an excuse to complain when he was younger, saying it was too small with nothing to do and that all the interesting things were outside the barriers. No one listened to him, a few even took offense. He really only acted like that and said those things because he was bored. He wasn’t good at things like his brother had been. Cooking, drawing, socializing, that was Feliciano’s forte.

 As a kid all of his cooking lessons ended up with them going hungry for a night at best or home repairs at the worst. Drawing and other creative things like that had been fun at least, but he got tired of being teased about them since they never came out right. He had also been a bit frustrated that all the hard work he put into them never worked out yet his brother never seemed to struggle with them and they always came out nice.

 Socializing was just a tragedy. At first when he was a kid the adults hadn’t been that bad. Of course Lovino thought they were either bossy or lame but nothing more. They’d been fairly patient with him to be honest. After years and years of exposure to his attitude and loose temper though that patience waned. The tried getting stricter but it never helped, if anything it made Lovino lash out more. The other kids just plain hated him, but they at least respected Feliciano’s feelings enough to not bully Lovino outright, just when Feliciano and the adult couldn’t or wouldn’t see.

 “I guess,” Lovino acquiesced to his brother. His brow was furrowed from the bitter memories flitting through his mind. The complete opposite of his brother’s smile. They laid in silence for a while. Lovino was just starting to drift off when Feliciano spoke up again.

 “Do you think grandpa is mad?”

 “What?” Lovino muttered, prying his eyes open again.

 “Grandpa, do you think he’s mad that we’re leaving him?” Lovino sat up and looked down at his brother. Feliciano’s brown eyes were watery.

 “We aren’t leaving him Feli,” Lovino said. “Haven’t you heard what the other villagers always say. They don’t leave us, they just start watching over us. How the hell do you think I managed to keep this place safe for another summer.”

 “You mean grandpa’s spirit was protecting us?” Feliciano sat up a bit with eyes wide and a relieved smile starting to touch his lips.

 “Yeah,” Lovino smiled. “I don’t know how it works or even how to actually explain it. Ask some of the older village ladies on the way out of town tomorrow, I’m sure they’d love to talk to you about it.”

 Just then Lovino remembered something. He crawled off the bed over Feliciano. He walked over to his bags he’d brought from the cabin. After digging in them for a few minutes he dug out the two silver bracelets he’d found at the cabin. He walked back to the bed and sat down on the edge.

 “Here,” Lovino handed his brother one. “I know we have stuff and trinkets from Grandpa’s room but these were in his cabin. He decided to keep them there instead of any of the other things he owned. So these must have been something really important to him.”

 “They’re pretty,” Feliciano cooed as he held one and traced his fingers over the design. “Do you think…”

 “Hm?”

 “Do you think our grandmother gave them to him?”

 “Grandmother?” Lovino questioned. He hadn’t thought of that. He assumed that it was a gift from a girl infatuated with him, but a gift from their grandmother was probably more valid. It would make more sense. The only reason he hadn’t thought of it sooner, he guessed, was because he just assumed his grandmother and his grandfather hadn’t really been a couple.

 He couldn’t picture his grandfather fawning over one woman like that. He played around too much. Then again, one woman had to stick around long enough for their mother or father to be born. It would have helped Lovino figure out if it was possible if his grandfather hadn’t been such a prick about their family history.

 Feliciano and Lovino had assumed that their parents’ deaths had just been too painful for his grandfather to bring up, which may be true, but because of that neither of them knew much. They could only make their own assumptions.

 Just then Lovino remembered the picture he’d found with the bracelets and his eyes widened. He dove for his bag and started digging things out carelessly before getting impatient and upending the whole bag.

 “Fratello!” Feliciano gasped. He got up and walked over to the mess Lovino had made just as Lovino found what he was looking for.

 “This was also with the bracelets Feli,” Lovino muttered. His eyes were wide as he looked at it now.

 “It’s a portrait drawing of a couple. It could be grandpa and grandma, but I don’t recall grandpa talking about having more than one child.”

 Feliciano squatted down and looked at the drawing. “The man...is too thin. If this was grandpa, he would have more muscles don’t you think. The woman... From the way her face shape is drawn, it looks similar to grandpa’s, to ours.”

 Feliciano was right, the woman’s head was rounded in similar, almost identical, ways the boys’ heads were. This was a drawing so it’s not like it couldn’t be made to look like that, but the picture was old. Who would do something like that anyway? Especially with no seeable reason. They were making assumptions, but they always had. Lovino was going to stop now.

 “Fratello, these are our parents aren’t they?”

 “Yeah, Feli, I think they are.”

 “So that would be you, in the blanket.”

 “And that would be you, in her belly,” Lovino chuckled pointing out the drawn curve of the woman’s stomach. He was such an idiot to not figure this out sooner.

 “They’re wearing the bracelets.”

 “Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Lovino muttered as he looked at the wrists of the two in the picture. “So these aren’t from grandma to grandpa but-”

 “They’re from our parents!” Feliciano gasped. Tears started streaming down his face then and he let out a sob.  

 “Ah! Feli,” Lovino panicked. He folded the picture and put it in his pocket. His brother latched onto him then and silently cried. Lovino didn’t know what to say, so instead of saying anything he just helped his brother up and walked him towards the bed. Feliciano curled up against Lovino and was within a few minutes fast asleep. Lovino wasn’t far behind him. They could talk more about this when they woke up.

* * *

 

Lovino turned his head toward the wide window of the bedroom. The sun was still out in the sky just now starting to darken to an orange. Lovino eyelids felt heavier by the second and a thudding headache and prickling sensation moving across his head followed him into his sleep.

 When Lovino started waking up the prickling sensation and headache had dissipated. He was still exhausted and it was almost impossible to get his eyes to open but he managed. He squinted at the window. It was hard to see with his sleep blurred eyes but it still looked like it was light out. He’d only been out for an hour or two?

 The sky was getting dark but he could still see the orange glow of the sun still coming through the bottom half of the window’s glass. Well, he should get up and go into the village to get a cart for them to load their things onto anyway, that way they would only have to worry about getting in one tomorrow without having to worry about their things.

 As he quietly and softly got out of the bed he heard something. It was hard to make out, indistinct because of the distance and the walls but he could tell it was outside. Were the villagers having some kind of farewell party for the village? They shouldn’t be wasting their time on something like that!

 Lovino grumbled as he finally got on his feet about how stupid the villagers were. He wobbled groggily over to the window to get a better look. He froze once he finally saw out properly. He just stared, unmoving, not comprehending what he was seeing. Then he yelled. Feliciano jolted awake at the sound of Lovino shouting and started trying to sit up.

 “Feli get up!” Lovino yelled but didn’t actually wait for Feliciano to listen to him. He was already grabbing Feliciano’s arm and dragging his brother out of bed.

 “F-fratello? what’s wrong-ow! Fratello you’re hurting my arm!”

 “We have to go, we have to leave now!”

 “Is it time to leave already? Ah! Our things! Fratello we have grab-”

 _“Feli!_ ” Lovino snapped as he shoved their front door open while dragging his brother through it with him. “It’s already too late.” Lovino felt like sobbing, even more than his brother had earlier, as he stared at their village burning and heard the villagers screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is on Aug. 15th!
> 
> Translation:  
> Fratello-Brother/Big brother.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* :3

What Lovino saw was what he imagined hell looked like. Demons of various shapes and sizes, and of monstrous and deceivingly human forms, massacred any villager they could find. Feliciano’s hand trembled in Lovino’s hand and he made a sharp gasp. Lovino was happy he hadn’t screamed.

The demons hadn’t noticed their house yet. Since it was far apart from the rest of the buildings, it was hard to notice at night. The light of the growing fire as the town burned would soon show it though, and the demons would notice.

Lovino tightened his hold on Feliciano’s hand and practically dragged the younger off their doorstep and into the shadow that the light from the burning town hadn’t reached yet. After a few moments Feliciano’s shock disappeared some and his stumbling decreased. He was keeping up with Lovino easily enough now but neither of them let go of each other’s hand as they moved. They made it to the treeline of woods near their house and hid in the bushes.

Lovino knew they wouldn’t be able to hide there for long but it was better than going back inside and trying to hide in their house. They needed to find a way to escape. They needed to run. If they ran nonstop to the nearest town it would take the rest of the night and the next whole day to reach. Lovino would like to believe the fear and adrenaline could keep them going that long but he knew that was impossible.

They needed a horse; he and Feliciano would be able to fit easily on one and it would be faster than the two of them running at full speed. Could it outrun demons, though? Possibly, it would depend on what demon chased after them. The only problem with the plan Lovino was trying to pull together was that the horses were all in town, most of them probably scared off from the chaos or dead to prevent escape. Any horses left would be hard to calm down or tied to a cart. Lovino would have to go into that nightmare and find one and be able to get it to behave long enough and well enough for him and Feliciano to get on and out of the area.

Lovino turned to look at Feliciano. His younger brother was shaking violently and his eyes filled with terror and tears soaked his face. He was looking down at the ground, too scared and horrified to look or catch even a glimpse of the village. Lovino had to get him out of here, no matter what, he had to get Feliciano away. Lovino squeezed his brother’s hand, prompting the younger to look up.

“Feli,” Lovino started. “We’re going to get out of here. They haven’t noticed us or our house yet but they will soon. We have to go before we do so we have a head start.”

“What...What about everyone else? Mr. Zwingli, Lili, all of the villagers! I-I know many people have probably already,” Feliciano stopped and swallowed. “We can’t just abandon them, we have to help.”

“Feli,” Lovino stopped his brother. He hated how cold he was about to sound but he had to bring his brother down to reality. “Half the village is dead already and that’s being optimistic. Anyone still alive that has even the slightest bit of intelligence is going to be escaping. So we need to do the same. It would be impossible to save everyone anyway.”

Feliciano shook with another sob and looked away from Lovino. “So what do we do then? Do we just run?”

“We wouldn’t be fast enough,” Lovino explained. “We need a horse. So I need you to stay here while I-”

“No!” Feliciano instantly cried. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. Lovino had tensed as well and he glanced towards the village and around them. It wasn’t loud enough to attract attention at least.

“Feli it will be easier if I go alone, I’m less likely to get spotted if it’s just me. I’ll get a horse and come back here to get you.”

“W-what if you’re not sneaky enough! What if they notice you!”

“Then you run. As fast as you can without stopping for as long as you can, Feliciano you have to promise me that if I’m not back by the time the fire has revealed our house you’ll run. You have to get away before the demons notice it and start checking for anyone hiding.”

“I won’t leave you!”

“Feli you have to. Grandpa wouldn’t want you to die, especially not like this.”

“Fratello, he wouldn’t want either of us to die,” Feliciano corrected. Lovino sighed.

“Yeah, I know, but just because I might get caught doesn’t mean I’ll die.” Lovino smiled bitterly. “It’s possible they’ll keep me as a human slave, or it’s possible that I’ll get away from them but I might not make it back here. So you need to go on without me if I’m not back soon. Feliciano promise me.”

They were both quiet for a while and Feliciano eventually nodded. “Fine,” he agreed weakly. “I’ll run, I promise. You have to promise me fratello. You have to promise me that you won’t die.”

“I promise,” Lovino answered immediately, despite not actually believing if he actually would live. “Now remember, when the fire’s light makes our house easily visible, run.”

“Wait!” Feliciano hurriedly whispered and grabbed Lovino’s sleeve before Lovino. Lovino turned back around and saw Feliciano digging around in a bag.

“When did you grab that?” Lovino asked.

“I grabbed it right before you grabbed me and pulled me out of the house. It was by the bed so it was close.” It was Lovino’s bag from earlier that evening. Feliciano pulled out the two silver bracelets. “Here.” He slipped one of the bracelets on Lovino's arm. It dangled a bit at his wrist. Feliciano proceeded to put the other one on himself. “This way...we have grandpa, momma, and papa protecting us, right?”

“Yeah,” Lovino agreed and smiled softly at his brother. “We’ll need them to watch our asses.” Feliciano smiled back at Lovino for a moment before looking down again as his eyes watered. Lovino took that as a cue to leave before Feliciano begged him to stay.

Lovino walked quietly in the shadows for as long as he could but soon it was hard to find any. He made it to the edge of the village and began to hide behind the burning buildings. Parts of the buildings had already broken off and collapsed and were continuing to burn on the ground. He cautiously peeked around the corner of the building he was hiding behind and his blood turned to ice.

Bodies were everywhere on the ground, red puddles underneath them shimmered with the flickering flames that they reflected. Demons were walking around, chasing after people who were still running, searching bodies, and searching burning houses. Lovino stayed out of the line of sight of the demons. He hid behind debris on the ground and behind preloaded wagons. There wasn’t a horse in sight. It looked like they all had run off.

Lovino cursed under his breath but it was too soon to give up. He had just a bit of time left to find one before Feliciano did as he promised. Knowing his brother he’d probably hesitate and wait a few minutes longer anyway. Lovino jumped at a sudden sound near him and turned to see a man from the village running. The man’s head turned and glanced at him for a moment as he was running.

In the next second, a spear pierced through it.

The man’s body hit the ground. The spear had easily and almost perfectly pierced through the man’s head to pin his corpse the ground. Lovino put a hand over his mouth to keep from getting sick.

“BULL’S EYE!” He heard someone cheer accompanied by a few chuckles. Lovino didn’t look up to see the demon who was celebrating his aim. Instead, he crawled along the ground to the next cart that was a few yards away and hid behind that one instead. He glanced up for just a moment and saw a group of three demons making their way to the body of the villager. He took their moment of distraction to dart to the corner of another building and round the corner.

There he saw what he was looking for, a horse. A horse being ridden by Vash and his sister while they were surrounded by four demons.

Behind them was a burning building; to their right one demon and the other side two more; in front of them stood another one, a more human looking one judging by the demon’s silhouette and size. Lovino assumed he was a demon at least. Vash had an arrow pointed at him after all. Lovino was a few yards away and hadn't been spotted by any of them.

Vash and his sister were trapped. The demons weren’t moving any closer to them but they didn’t seem worried either. Lovino guessed they weren’t underestimating how serious Vash was about shooting the one in front of him but they weren’t worried about Vash actually hurting him probably. Lili was clutching onto Vash and had her face buried in his back.

Vash opened his mouth and talked, but Lovino wasn’t close enough to hear him. The demon in front of Vash stepped forward and Vash shouted at him. “Not another step!” He was loud enough that Lovino had heard him that time. The demon in front of him took another step anyway, and Vash let loose an arrow. It hit the demon’s arm in front of him but the demon didn’t even flinch, he simply took another step while the other demons chuckled.

Vash paled. He used the reins to guide his horse backwards but there was nowhere the blonde would be able to go. Vash and Lili were going to die, Lovino was about to watch them die. Then Lovino noticed something, it was above them, debris tangled and stuck in a rope holding up a wall of a destroyed building. The debris and rope were smoldering but the rope holding it all together hadn't burnt enough for the wall of the building and debris to fall. If it was cut or broken then it would all fall right where the two demons on Vash’s left were.

Lovino felt himself move before he could actually think. He managed to quietly make it over to the destroyed building and was now dangerously close to where Vash and the demon who faced him was. Vash hadn’t noticed him, his attention was split up too much and the demons were too busy entertaining themselves with Vash’s predicament to notice him as well.

There was only one person who noticed him. Lili, who was peeking from the side of Vash’s arm locked her blue eye onto Lovino’s. Lovino gestured for her to stay quiet. She blinked slowly and responded by silently burying her face back into her brother’s side. Lovino saw Vash flinch after a moment and tilt his head but Vash didn’t look in his direction, not directly at least.

Lovino crouched and moved closer to the building wall and grabbed the rope that was keeping it from collapsing. The rope was thick but part of it was weak. Lovino began pulling on it. He looked up and saw frayed singed ends splitting more and more. The odd structure groaned and it wasn’t long before Lovino’s meddling and the weight of the debris snapped the rope and it all collapsed.

Just as Lovino had guessed, the wall and debris crumbled right above the two demons on Vash’s left. They managed to get out of the wall’s way but it gave Vash an opening and before any of the other demons could move, Vash’s horse darted to the left and he and Lili took off. They looked at Lovino. Vash’s look was blank and his mouth was pursed with anger, Lili just looked apologetic and sad. They didn’t stop, they couldn’t. If they did the demons would recover from the shock and corner them again.

Instead, they now crowded around Lovino, who no longer had the wall to hide him and was in plain view. The two the wall had almost crushed stalked towards him and Lovino backed up. He considered his chances at being able to run but they were soon dashed a hand wrapped tightly around his neck from behind and slammed him to the ground.

Lovino cried out as his face painfully hit the ground and he began to thrash, attempting to get the other to let go. His struggling did nothing but tire him out. The strength the other used kept Lovino from lifting up an inch. The most he could do was twist his head slightly to look at the demon who had him pinned.

“Look at what did you little bastard,” the demon above him drawled. “You ruined our fun and nearly got my men squashed.” He pressed Lovino harder into the ground. Lovino yelped in pain as rubble and glass dug into his cheek. Lovino looked back up the demon and his eye met bright emerald-green irises. Familiar ones.

“I suppose we’ll have to squash you so you understand why you shouldn’t do that to people. It’s very rude you know,” the demon continued. His words had a hard cold edge to them now but Lovino barely heard them. He could barely see a large rock, too big for a human to hold easily even with two hands, given to the demon pinning him down. The demon was raising it up, Lovino knew he intended to bludgeon him with it, but Lovino was having a hard time focusing on that.

His mind was working at a mile a minute as it unearthed memories Lovino’s subconscious must have buried away. They were fuzzy memories that began to reappear too fast for him to sort but one part of them remained clear enough for Lovino to hold onto.

“España?” Lovino questioned before the rock came toward his face and the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* I didn't write this chapter with the intention of a cliffhanger buuuut...:3 Anyway I hope you all enjoyed! Next update is September 5th!


	8. Chapter 8

Francis let out a soft appreciative hum as he watched the sun rise. He'd always appreciate the beautiful sight. This particular one had it's beauty hampered by the smoke clouds rising above a village and into the sky. Francis pitied the people of this village. Most of the villagers were now corpses scattered on the ground in different variations of mutilation. There was a hand full that had escaped, though.

"Hey," a loud voice boomed from a few yards away. A man with pure white hair and skin was marching up to him.

"It's far too early to be so boisterous don't you think," Francis chided.

"I don't think it makes a difference if we've been up all night," the pale man argued. He came to a stop in front of the blonde. Francis chuckled at that.

"So what can I help you with, Gilbert? Shouldn't you be helping your comrades find their precious little prize."

The pale man flashed sharp, vicious looking teeth in a wide grin that reached all the way to scarlet eyes. "We found it."

Francis stared at his friend, surprise frozen onto his features. After a moment he got a hold of himself and muttered, " That easy? How anticlimactic."

"Pfft, who cares? Now we can finally get the hell out of this shitty place," Gilbert laughed. "Anyway, I came to tell you to get ready to go if you're still planning on tagging along with us."

"Of course mon cher!" Francis pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against. "I'll go on ahead to the camp.

"Ah, before you do, Toni wants to see you."

"Hm? What for?"

"He wants you to take someone back with you," Gilbert reached up to scratch the back of his head as an irritated look crossed his face. "I didn't want to do it and he doesn't trust anyone else here."

"What do you mean?"

"He...Tch, if you want to know go see him yourself." Gilbert stomped off after that leaving Francis confused and curious. He headed off towards what used to be the town center. Once they had gotten done ransacking the town the fastest of them had been ordered to search the area for the few that had escaped and the rest were ordered to look through the rubble.

In the center of the town was the man in charge of this small army and was a longtime friend of Francis. He was sitting down on the ground with his legs crossed at the ankles and his head tilted towards the sky. He looked relaxed if not for the anxious shaking of his raised foot. Beside him was a body covered with a long jacket. As he got closer Francis recognized the person lying down and his lips curled into a smirk.

"My, my, what do we have here?" Francis cooed as he approached and looked down at the unconscious face of the little village guard Lovino. Lovino's face was covered with dirt and blood and his head was bandaged.

"Francis," the man beside Lovino greeted.

"Antonio, I'm surprised you're planning on taking a prisoner when you've already retrieved the Atlas. I didn't think you could be vindictive like this."

Antonio looked away from the sky and met Francis's eyes with a guilty expression. "I am not. I do not plan to harm this boy, nor will I allow for him to be mistreated."

"I am...confused," Francis stated. "If you have the Atlas and aren't planning on taking revenge out on the poor boy for the troubles we've had to go through to get it then why is he not dead? Do you think he has any useful information?"

"No, I'm not keeping him for information. It's a long story mi amigo, too long for me to explain completely right now. The short version is that this boy is important to...and to me. Gilbert is not happy with me right now and refuses to do this task. Aside from him, you are the only one that I know won't harm him. He knows you as well, so when he wakes up he'll be more likely to listen to you and keep calm, or as calm as he can."

"Fine," Francis acquiesced. "Once you get back to camp though I want answers."

"Ah, no Francis, you aren't taking him to the camp."

Francis arched a brow at that, he was starting to get annoyed. "Then where do you want me taking him too?"

"Take him through the portal that Ravis has set up for us."

"To the demon realm? Antonio, you do realize I have trouble going through that thing without you or one of your men escorting me since I'm not really an accepted presence there."

"You will be fine. You've already proven your loyalty by helping us breakdown the barriers. They shouldn't have any more reasons to stop you after that," Antonio explained.

"Fine, but I doubt they would let him through so easily. They would kill him on the spot!"

Antonio's face pinched at that. He looked down at Lovino, who was completely oblivious to their conversation. "No, they won't. Just tell them his name. They'll take you to the castle but you will not be harmed. I will be there as soon as I can. I must ask, though, whatever you do, do not allow any general other than Ivan or Yao to come near him."

"Antonio-"

"I promise Francis," Antonio interrupted him. His green eye pleaded with Francis. "I will explain later, but I need you to get him away from here before he wakes up."

"Fine," Francis acquiesces.

"I will make sure you are rewarded as well," Antonio continued as relief colors his face. "Whatever you want-"

"An explanation is all that I will want. This is something important to you mon amie, so I will do it for you. Besides, I'm personally fond of the boy myself. He's quite a little spitfire," Francis smirked. Antonio didn't say anything but he stood up from the ground. He bent to pick Lovino up, keeping him wrapped in the jacket and handing him to Francis.

Without another word Francis carried Lovino away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Next chapter is on the 19th and Lovino is pissed. :) Thanks for reading.
> 
> Translation:
> 
> Mon cher-my dear
> 
> Mi amigo-my friend
> 
> Mon amie-my friend


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! As some of you know I was sick and I'm not completely over it but it's absolutely nothing like it was before! Thank you all for your patients and here's your new chapter! I promised you a double post and you'll get one but the next chapter won't be up until to tomorrow!

The first thing Lovino registered as he pulled himself out of unconsciousness was that he was _fucking cold_!

Almost immediately, as if emphasizing his realization, a harsh shiver wracked through his body. He groaned unhappily and tried to wake up but his thoughts didn’t seem to want to cooperate. He slowly focused on opening his eyes and sitting up, once he was finally upright he opened his eyes and stared at complete darkness.

His mind was still moving slowly, and Lovino now believed it was due to whatever was making his head throb sickeningly. “Fuck,” Lovino gasped in pain and brought his hand to cradle his head. He felt some sort of cloth wrapped around it. Bandages?

Why did his head hurt so much?

Why did he have bandages on his head?

Why was it dark? Why did he feel so anxious?

Where was he?

...Where was Feli?

Everything started to come back to him in rapid bursts. Feliciano and him looking at their parents’ picture. The fire engulfing the town. Feliciano crying and handing him one of the silver bracelets. Blood, lots of blood. And Corpses. More Fire. Demons. Vash and Lili escaping on their horse. Emerald eyes.

Lovino groaned and felt a wave of nausea as the images assaulted him. Closing his eyes only made them more vivid. His entire body was shaking but Lovino knew it wasn’t just the cold now. His hands twitched violently and he balled them up to try and keep them still. Where was he? Where was Feliciano? Did he run away? He had to. Feliciano promised him he would run. He would, wouldn’t he?

“So you’re finally awake belle au bois dormant?” Lovino’s head jerked at the sound of that familiar voice. He turned but couldn’t see him through the darkness.

“Fairy bastard?”

He heard a snort. “Oui belle au bois dormant. How are you feeling? This floor is uncomfortable enough on it’s own, but I imagine it’s even worse for someone injured.”

Lovino stared at the direction the voice came from. He gingerly placed his fingers on the bandages. “Did you...save me,” Lovino asked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the idea while trying to remember more of what happened. It was silent between the two for a long moment. Then Francis started laughing hysterically.

Lovino scowled into the darkness but stayed quiet as Francis tried to recover from his laughing fit. “Far from it mon cher,” Francis breathed out on one last chuckle. “Unfortunately I am not your Prince Charming.”

“Bastard,” Lovino spat. “Then can you at least tell me where the fuck we are?”

“Hm, I could but I wonder if you would believe me. I wonder if you would want to believe me?”

“Well, we won’t fucking know until you tell me.”

“Hmm,” Francis hummed. Lovino knew he was just being used as entertainment now. Lovino didn’t want bother trying to pry that information away, so he asked a different question instead.

“What happened to the village?”

“I knew that would be your next question.”

“Then fucking answer it!” Lovino yelled.

“Shh, shh, no need to yell mon cher,” Francis muttered.

“Don’t fucking shush me asshole,” Lovino hissed.

“It was destroyed,” Francis finally snaps. “Don’t act like an idiot. You were there weren’t you? You saw your town being burned to the ground right?” Lovino flinched. He didn’t respond to Francis. It wasn’t that he was trying to stupidly think everything was fine he had just… Lovino heard Francis give a heavy sigh. “Pardon me mon cher, I’m actually in a bit of a foul mood myself given our circumstances. I apologize for being too harsh about your loss.”

“How many?”

“Pardon?”

“How many of them are dead? How many innocent people were killed for no reason?”

“Well, I presume all them. Some did run away but demons were sent out after them.”

Lovino clenched his hands tighter, the twitching was starting to go up to his arms now and he felt sick. “Some could have gotten away. It’s not possible to catch every single person who ran.”

“It’s actually very possible,” Francis hummed. “Afterall, we did have a reason for attacking your village. The demons have been looking for a particular item for a long time. It was suspected that it was in your village. I'll be honest, though, and tell you that their deaths weren't necessary to actually find it."

"So they were killed for no reason!"

"Mostly yes. The demons did have a reason to kill them, petty as it may be. They were frustrated. They'd been stuck on the other side of that barrier for so long that killing the villagers was almost like revenge in a way. Stress relief may be a better way to put it."

“Stress relief?” Lovino growled out. “How the fuck can you talk about people like their fucking punching bags? You may not be human and you may now even like humans but what those demons did was…”

“Wrong? Sick? Twisted? Evil? Yes, all that and more. It’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen happen to others, though.”

“What do you mean?” Lovino questioned Francis, but Francis didn’t answer. Honestly, Lovino didn’t want him to. They sat in silence for awhile. Lovino’s head started to hurt so much he laid back down on the stone floor. The floor was incredibly uncomfortable, but the cold helped soothe his head.

Lovino didn’t know how much time had passed. He had been slipping back to sleep on and off for awhile. He had just reopened his eyes again at the sound of shuffling. Probably Francis trying to get comfortable again. Lovino wondered why he didn’t just get off the floor and sit in a chair or something. Why were they both on the floor in some dark room anyway. Lovino remembered his first question from earlier.

“Francis,” Lovino muttered groggily. “Where are we?” Lovino didn’t get an answer. He assumed Francis had no intention of telling him anything.

Lovino was just starting to drift off again when he heard Francis speak again. “We are being held as prisoners for trespassing.”

“Trespassing,” Lovino repeated. “Trespassing where?”

“The demon realm. We were caught and arrested by the demon general Yao. We were locked in here until the day of our death sentence is decided.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter next one will be up tomorrow! Again, thank you all for being awesome and patient!
> 
> belle au bois dormant-sleeping beauty
> 
> Oui- Yes
> 
> Mon cher- my darling


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N* Alright! Here's your promised second chapter! Thank you to all of you who sent me get well wishes! I'm very grateful and glad to say that I'm feeling much better now. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> \--On a side note, how many of you are as happy it's October as I am now? Halloween is my life and because I'm curious and nosy I want to know what you're all planning for costumes! I'm doing going to be Red Riding Hood with my friend Zack is going as the Woodsman and his boyfriend is going as the big bad wolf.

“What?” Lovino croaked. He quickly shoved himself up into a proper sitting position and stared in Francis’s direction. “You’re lying.”

“I’m afraid not. Wish I was,” Francis sighed.

“Why the hell would you bring me to the demon realm if you were trying to save me?”

“I told you earlier mon cher, I wasn’t trying to save you. I didn’t actually. Someone else did.”

“Who?”

“A friend,” Francis explained simply. “He told me to take you here because it would be safer. And before you say anything,” Francis stated just as Lovino opened his mouth to comment on how fucking stupid the person must have been, “I agree that I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“Then why the hell did you bring me here anyway?”

“I still trust him. He’s a good friend who’s done a lot for me and has asked for little in return. To be honest, bringing you here was the first thing he’d directly asked me to do for him. I couldn’t say no. I still trust him.”

“Even though he kind of betrayed you?”

“Betrayed me?” Francis chuckled.

Lovino frowned and his brows furrowed with confusion. “That’s what happened I’m guessing. He sent you here under the impression that he wanted your help with moving an injured person somewhere he thought would be safe, but the place was obviously the farthest thing from safe for the two of us.”

“...I suppose in your situation and with what you know that seems like a reasonable assumption, but I’m afraid you’re far off your mark.”

“Then why would he send you here with me?”

“Mon cher....I don’t have all the answers. I wouldn’t say bringing you here on my own was a smart idea on his behalf but he had assumed there would be no problems based on who he is and who I am.”

“I don’t understand,” Lovino muttered tiredly.

“Once he gets here I’m sure he’ll explain. Well, he sure as hell better explain it to me. I’ve earned some information on what’s running through his head.”  
“He’s coming here?”

“Yes, this is his home after all. Once he realizes that we are-”

“He’s a demon!” Lovino spat suddenly. Francis jumped at the sudden outburst.

“Ah, pardon me, I forgot to mention that didn’t I?”

“What else could he fucking want from me? He’s one of the ones that attacked the village I’m assuming? Did he find me and decide that he wanted to use me as a personal punching bag? Was killing everyone I knew and grew up with not enough?”

“My, my, your mind runs to negativity awfully quick mon cher,” Francis tsked. “Have you ever tried to look at the brighter sides of things?” Francis was met with a chilling silence. He chuckled. “I guess not. If it’s any consolation he didn’t want to hurt you. It’s why he sent you with me instead of one of his subordinates. As for why it seems he wants to be kind to you, I have no clue. It'll be the first question I ask him.”

“Subordinate…”

“Yes, I kind of mentioned it earlier, but he’s someone of importance in the demon realm. Had things gone how they should then I doubt we would be sitting in here. We even lucked out and ran into one of the people he’d assumed would help us. However, it seems he underestimated Yao’s paranoia.”

“Yao? You mentioned him earlier. He's the one who threw us in here,” Lovino said. “You called him a..general?”

“Yes. Fourth Seat Demon General Yao.”

“General...so there are three more….”

“Lovino,” Francis said with a bit of shock in his voice. “You don’t know about the demon generals? I know most information about demons and how their society works is nearly nonexistent in closed off towns and villages like yours but considering who you and your grandfather are...He didn’t explain anything to you?”

“Apparently, not,” Lovino spat.

“Well....”

Francis didn’t continue his sentence. Lovino didn’t ask him to. They just sat together in silence. A million questions were running through Lovino's mind. Lovino didn’t understand why he was even still alive. He didn’t understand why a demon, and an apparently powerful one at that, would want to keep him alive or have him brought to the demon realm. He was also upset now for not knowing anything about the enemy his grandfather had fended off for so long.

The silence was soon broken by a loud clanking sound.

“About time,” Francis muttered.

“What’s going on,” Lovino asked apprehensively.

“Our cavalry, I’m sure.”

“Cavalry?”

“Yes. Oh, sorry. Did you think I was serious earlier about us being given a death penalty?”

Lovino glared in Francis’s direction. He doubted the fairy bastard could see any better than him but he hoped the blonde could feel the rage rolling off of him. “Fucking bastard.”

“If it makes you feel better that is what usually happens to trespassers. We're just a special case."

Thudding footsteps were getting closer and closer until they finally came to a stop. Lovino heard the clanking of metal hitting and grinding against itself before a second of silence. A sharp grating sound pierced the air and made Lovino wince and grasp his head. In the darkness, a small sliver of dim light begins to grow. Lovino looked to his right and saw the light taking the shape of a rectangle as a door opened. The grating sound was coming from the metal door scraping the stone floor.

Even though the light was dim it still stung his eyes and he grunted unhappily. When he reopened them it took his eyes a moment to adjust but he eventually was able to see clearly. Francis was sitting directly across from him. Francis wasn’t looking back, though, all of his attention directed toward the open door.

“Oh my, you have such a mean look,” a calm and amused voice drawled. Lovino turned to it and paled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading soooo much and I hope you all enjoyed! October 17th will be the next update!


	11. Chapter 11

“G-General Braginski,” Francis muttered.

 Lovino recognized the name Francis had said earlier. Lovino stared at him but really couldn’t see the others face well in the dark. He also couldn’t help the feel of terror coursing through him if he looked for too long. He eventually stopped trying to get a look at the demon and just stared at the floor.

 “What do you want,” Francis asked but his voice was fairly shaky. It was as if he wanted to speak in a more demanding tone but really couldn’t muster it.

 “Huh? Shouldn’t you be much more grateful right now? I’m helping you out and doing your boss a favor Francis. Ah, wait maybe the two of you like it down here? I wouldn’t find the stone floor comfortable but I’m not one to judge if that’s what you like,” the demon general spoke. He said it without paused with an amused tone. He definitely didn’t sound offended He didn’t sound all that offended. The demon mostly spoke in an amused, almost mischievous child.

 “Wait,” Francis perked up and he voice sounded much more solid in his relief. “You’re releasing us?”

 Mm-hm,” the general hummed. “Yao wasn’t happy and didn’t want to. I think he was considering skipping procedure and going on ahead with executing. Lucky for you, he couldn’t bring himself to do so,” the general laughed. Francis gave a nervous chuckle himself but Lovino kept quiet. “Then your boss came in and went a little crazy. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him like that! It was great! For a moment I thought him and Yao were going to destroy the entire room.”

 “Toni and Yao fought?” Francis questioned. The general was about to answer but Lovino piped up and interrupted him.

 “Toni. Is that your boss's name?”

 “Ah, yes,” Francis answered. He looked back to General Braginski whose gaze had shifted to Lovino. Lovino still wasn’t looking up from the ground. Francis feared that the general had gotten offended at being interrupted but instead just looked curious.

 There was a moment of silence before someone spoke again. “Ah,” General Braginski started, breaking the silence. He snapped his finger like he’d come up with a brilliant idea or had remembered something. “I should say before I forget! I’m only here for one of you.”

 “What?” Francis gasped. “You just said that we were free?”

 “You are, you are! Don’t get so ruffled little fairy. It was Yao’s stipulation. He wants me to escort him,” the general pointed to Lovino, “to his new room. Yao doesn’t trust him at all. Your friend will be here shortly to get you. The loud pale one I believe.”

 “Oh,” Francis sighed feeling much more relieved. Lovino didn’t share his feeling.

 “Like hell I’m going anywhere with a fucking demon,” Lovino snapped. He glared up at the demon in the doorway. It was a small moment of rebellion. The moment swiftly died when his eyes locked with the general luminous purple ones.

 “Unfortunately you don’t get a choice. While the fairy is free you are not, you just aren’t going to die today. Yao is still pushing for your execution, though, I’m willing to bet he’d use any excuse given, like if I was to say that you were very resistant?” Lovino felt sick. He looked back down towards the ground and crossed his arms. They were shaking so bad he couldn’t hide them anymore. He saw Francis glance at him knowingly but he didn’t say anything.

 A loud clap sound through the room making Lovino and Francis jump. Their attention was drawn back to the general in the doorway. “Well, let’s get going. I’m actually really busy and my subordinates are probably wondering where I went.” Without another word, he took a few steps in towards Lovino.

 Fear spiked through him and Lovino jerked back. Moving so suddenly wasn’t the best idea though as his head throbbed and he was overcome with a harsh wave of vertigo. “D-Don’t touch me,” Lovino managed to get out feebly. His protest was completely ignored as he was lifted and effortlessly tossed over the general’s shoulders. His dizziness suddenly increased.

 Even after he was settled on the general’s shoulder he couldn’t bring himself to even kick at him. Everything felt like it was swimming. He heard Francis call out to him in worry when he groaned in pain. “Ah, I forgot you’re injured. Well, don’t worry it's not too far of a walk.”

 Lovino was taken out of the room and he heard the door shut with a loud clang. The hall outside was excruciatingly bright to his eyes. “Shit,” Lovino snapped. He started wiggling and trying to kick his feet. “Put me down fucker! I can walk on my own! I don’t want you fucking touching me you monster!” He suddenly felt a hard unrelenting force clamp down on his legs almost painfully. Lovino yelped at the sudden pain around his knees and turned his head to see the demon’s arm holding them down.

 “It would be smart for you to stay still now and not cause trouble yes? If you move around too much. You might fall and hurt yourself. I’ve seen plenty of others fall from being carried like this and break their legs as a result,” the general hummed. His grip tightened and Lovino winced. “Be good,” he chuckled.”

 “Fucker,” Lovino muttered under his breath. He wasn’t happy being carried like he was, it was humiliating, but he wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the general threat. The motion of the other walking wasn’t helping his dizziness in the slightest, though, he felt that if he’d had any food on his stomach he’d have already thrown it up. The thought of food seemed to wake up his stomach though as it decides just then to growl.

 He suddenly felt starved and he was embarrassed at the noise his stomach was making. He was actually grateful the demon carrying him didn’t comment on it. The general started walking up a long flight of steps and Lovino started to wonder if he was adding more sway to his steps on purpose. As they walk a flash of motion caught his eye and saw someone pale walking down the steps on the other side of them.

 “Ah, he got here sooner than I expected. Looks like the little fairy won’t be staying in that cell much longer,” the general hummed. Lovino glanced at him before looking back at the other demon now at the bottom of the stairs. He had white hair and skin but Lovino was even more unnerved by the bright red eyes he caught a glimpse of. The other demon quickly disappeared around the corner.

 Lovino was carried the rest of the way up the stairs and through multiple hallways. He had tried to keep track of them all but between the general’s fast pace and his dizzy spell he soon lost track of the turns. His headache didn’t help either. Eventually, they came to a stop. Lovino heard a door opening and he was carried a few more steps into a room before he was slung backward. He was startled by the movement and then even more so by the soft landing.

 “Enjoy your reunion while you can, it won’t be long until the meeting starts.” With that, the general left and Lovino sat up just as the door was closing.

 “Reunion,” Lovino muttered in confusion. He didn’t know what the demon meant. He took a moment to reorient himself and let everything stop spinning. It was only after a few minutes that something else caught his attention.

 A smell. The incredibly delicious smell of food. Lovino slowly turned to see a full mouth-watering plate that looked piping hot sitting on the table for him. He stood up with the intention of going over and devouring it when he spotted something else. He tensed and shrunk back, immediately suspicious of a person sitting a few feet off in the corner looking at him.

 “Who the fu…,” Lovino trailed off as he took in the other person. The man was dressed casually and had his long brown curl’s tied back in a small ponytail.He gave a small,nervous smile to Lovino. His emerald-green eyes that locked with Lovino’s shone with happiness.

 “Lovi...It’s been a long time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will actually be on November 1st! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed! Everyone have a Happy Halloween!


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